Category Archives: Skin Care

The Ingredients. No, there is no Passata in it. Im using an empty sterilised bottle to keep the lotion in.

A lotion / cream for baby that is natural and reasonably priced is challenging to buy. Recently, when my second baby was born I was given a tub of Neal’s Yard Remedies Baby Balm. It is wonderful stuff and I love it. Containing Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Shea Butter and Beeswax it leaves babies skin so soft. But at £10.50 for 50 grams it got a bit pricey as I used it every day as an all over moisturiser after little one’s bath.

Not long after, as I was shopping in the baby aisle of my local Waitrose, I noticed that they had tubs of Solid Coconut Baby Massage Oil priced at £2.89 for 125ml. I wondered if I could make a my own baby balm. Hot footing it round to the Olive Oil Section I bought a 500ml bottle of Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil for £3.39. The beeswax and Shea Butter I figured could be done without. 😉

Once home I made up a batch and was pleased with the results. It readily soaks into the skin and does not mark clothing. It has a very faint, pleasant fruity aroma; it’s almost as if the olive oil and coconut oils almost cancel each other out.

Below is my recipe. I hope you make some up too. And if your feeling adventurous, add the Beeswax and Shea Butter and let me know how you get on.

I avoid using Petroleum based products on my children because I believed they were bad for babies skin. In fact I make my own baby lotion (see the recipe post here) that is really lovely. I use it on babygirl and the boys and myself!

(In the last few months I have been working on making my own moisturiser, serum and cleansing lotion and will post those if your interested?)

So I was very interested to see this post by Paula’s Choice, the US ‘Cosmetics Cop’ that disabuses the view that mineral and petroleum based products are bad for our skin.

Myth Busting: Mineral Oil

The notion that mineral oil and petrolatum (Vaseline) are bad for skin has been around for some time, with Aveda being the most visible company to mount a crusade deriding these ingredients. According to many companies that produce “natural” cosmetics, mineral oil and petrolatum are terrible ingredients because they come from crude oil (petroleum) and are used in industry as metal-cutting fluid (among other uses) and, therefore, can harm the skin by forming an oil film and suffocating it.

This foolish, recurring misinformation about mineral oil and petrolatum is maddening. After all, crude oil is as natural as any other earth-derived substance. Moreover, lots of ingredients are derived from awful-sounding sources but are nevertheless benign and totally safe. Salt is a perfect example. Common table salt is sodium chloride, composed of sodium and chloride, but salt doesn’t have the caustic properties of chloride (a form of chlorine) or the unstable explosiveness of sodium. In fact, it is a completely different compound with the harmful properties of neither of its components.

Cosmetics-grade mineral oil and petrolatum are considered the safest, most nonirritating moisturizing ingredients ever found (Sources: Cosmetics & Toiletries, January 2001, page 79; Cosmetic Dermatology, September 2000, pages 44-46). Yes, they can keep air off the skin to some extent, but that’s what a good antioxidant is supposed to do; they don’t suffocate skin! Moreover, petrolatum and mineral oil are known for being efficacious in wound healing, and are also considered to be among the most effective moisturizing ingredients available (Source: Cosmetics & Toiletries, February 1998, pages 33-40). – See more here.

Here is my list of the top 10 must haves to get together and have ready for when your new baby comes along. All of the items on the list are items I have found indispensable, in other words, I would not be without. They would also be top baby gifts for new parents so add them to your baby shower gift list!

*Some of the product links are UK specific, please search for similar products for your location.

A life enhancing moment for this exhausted working Mum

Lisa Eldridge has provided me with sooooo much enjoyment since I discovered her site over 18 months ago. GET ALONG to it fellow Mummies and do something for yourself that will give you MUCH joy and MUCH confidence. I promise a life enhancing experience!

Until I discovered her, I was like so many other women – completely unsure of how to apply makeup. I had my ‘day look ‘and then my ‘going out look’, both of which were unchanged for years.

Now I have an extensive and well utilised makeup drawer that enables me to create chic and attractive makeup for myself on a daily basis. Not a bad feat for a working mother of 3 children under 6 years old!

PLEASE do yourself the biggest favour and check out her blog and tutorials. And I can attest from personal experience that she is the loveliest, most down to earth person.

Lisa Eldridge – Make Up Artist

Biography

With over 20 years of experience, Lisa Eldridge is one of the most highly regarded make-up artists on the international beauty and fashion circuits. Whether she’s called upon to create her signature look, best described as fresh and flawless or to work her magic for the catwalk or on editorial shoots, her understated, modern approach to beauty has made her indispensable to designers, magazine editors, art directors and celebrities alike. Through her online make-up tutorials, and her role as resident on-screen beauty expert for three seasons of Channel 4’s successful series ‘Ten Years Younger, Lisa has become one of the most recognised faces in the beauty industry, both in the UK and internationally.

Having previously lived and worked in Paris, New York and LA, Lisa is now based in London. Throughout her career, she has maintained a high editorial profile working with many of the world’s top fashion photographers including Regan Cameron, Solve Sundsbo, Patrick Demarchelier, Thomas Schenk, Paolo Roversi and Horst Dirkgerdes. Her masterful make-up artistry appeared on the pages of virtually every fashion magazine including British, Italian, Chinese and Japanese Vogue, Allure, Glamour, Elle, Numero, Pop and Lula.

In addition, Lisa has collaborated with many of the world’s top fashion houses on their advertising campaigns and fashion shows including Chloe, Alberta Ferretti, Prada, Donna Karan, Moschino and PPQ.

Continually quoted on the pages of the glossiest magazines, Lisa’s expertise has become highly prized over the years. In 1998, her authority was officially recognised by industry giant, Japanese make-up and skin care company, Shiseido who approached Lisa to work on developing the concept for a new make-up line. Designed and developed with Shiseido, Lisa collaborated on everything from shade and texture formulation, to packaging and new product development. “The experience of working on my own make-up line really completed the circle of my career, and has lead me to fully understand make-up from the inside out having applied it, designed it and learnt how it is made and sold,” says Lisa.

This was followed by another coup, when Lisa was head-hunted by established British cosmetics brand, No.7, and appointed as their Creative Director in 2003, a post she still holds. Working on the re-design and re-launch of this cult brand, she was responsible for bringing No.7 cosmetics back into the limelight. Using her vast experience in product development, formulation, colour, design, consultant training and P.R., her role has been key in the brand’s reinvention and global expansion into Europe, the US and Far East. What sets Lisa apart from her peers is her innate ability to translate trends, and then to communicate them through her expert make-up tutorials (created in her own studio) and blog posts. The tutorials brought her to the attention of Chanel, who asked her to collaborate with their Creative Director, Peter Phillips on Chanel’s “Make-Up Confidential,” a monthly digital magazine for which Lisa creates content. Most recently, Lisa has been commissioned to write a monthly column for BritishELLE, entitled “The Beauty Guru”, where she will sharing more of her aspirational and accessible make-up know-how with the readers.